Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods
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The Kabod Volume 3 Issue 3 Summer Article 1 January 2017 Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods Cory C. Coogan Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/kabod Part of the Modern Languages Commons, and the Reading and Language Commons Recommended Citations MLA: Coogan, Cory C. "Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods," The Kabod 3. 3 (2017) Article 1. Liberty University Digital Commons. Web. [xx Month xxxx]. APA: Coogan, Cory C. (2017) "Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods" The Kabod 3( 3 (2017)), Article 1. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/kabod/vol3/iss3/1 Turabian: Coogan, Cory C. "Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods" The Kabod 3 , no. 3 2017 (2017) Accessed [Month x, xxxx]. Liberty University Digital Commons. This Individual Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Crossing. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Kabod by an authorized editor of Scholars Crossing. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Coogan: Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods Running Head: PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL RESEARCH SHARING METHODS 1 Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods Cory Coogan Liberty University Published by Scholars Crossing, 2017 1 The Kabod, Vol. 3, Iss. 3 [2017], Art. 1 PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL RESEARCH SHARING METHODS 2 Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods Most linguists affirm the observation that human language is innate; the human mind has a capacity for grammar that is inherent from birth. This notion implies that a singular grammar produces all human languages; therefore, to appropriately understand the scope of the human capacity for grammar, a single model must cohesively describe the various processes of all human languages. If no single model can, then the innate language theory fails. Testing all languages against the same model, however, is a daunting task. Because languages are vastly innumerable and are separated by both culture and geography, no single researcher can review all languages. Cross-linguistic research is the task of the larger linguistic community because it requires the compilation and analysis of data from as many languages as possible. This essay will examine the content and purpose of major books, academic journals, and databases for the fields of phonetics and phonology in an attempt to identify the current linguistic community for research and also discuss the relative progress that has been made in compiling cross-linguistic data in these two linguistic subfields. Review of Books Thousands of books have been written within the field of linguistics; however, those focused on language typology and phonetic inventories are most beneficial to the purpose of cross-linguistic data compilation. Those reviewed here represent a small selection of well recognized or distinctly detailed cross-linguistic works. Classification and Index of the World’s Languages Classification and Index of the World’s Languages, by C.F. Voeglin and F.M. Voeglin is a language typology reference. It is a description of languages ordered by typological hierarchy, so broad categories separate into various subgroupings, which list individual languages, which https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/kabod/vol3/iss3/1 2 Coogan: Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL RESEARCH SHARING METHODS 3 finally list dialects. Groupings and sub-groupings describe their members, and each language entry discusses speaker population and region, and lists various known dialects. The back of the book also includes a comprehensive index of the languages and dialects. It is not a directly phonetic or phonological work, but is a foundational volume for cross-linguistic organization (Voegelin, & Voegelin, 1976). Patterns of Sound Patterns of Sound is I. Maddieson’s personal analysis of UPSID (discussed below), which is the phoneme inventory database he was largely responsible for creating. It discusses both the frequency and the distribution of phonemes represented in the database’s sampling of languages, pointing to various patterns that may be drawn from the data. The work functions as an initial analysis of UPSID as well as foundational cross-linguistic phonological research. The Sounds of the World’s Languages The Sounds of the World’s Languages, by P. Ladefoged and I. Maddieson, is a descriptive work of all attested speech sounds in human language. It is written as a phonetics reference material, using an analysis of nearly 400 languages to explain the anatomical production of all attested speech sounds. It primarily describes all attested consonants, broken by chapters according to manner of articulation, but also provides a one-chapter overview of vowels. The work is meant as a comprehensive introduction to attested phonetics, and therefore does not classify speech sounds by languages. It contributes to cross-linguistic phonetics research by describing all known phones. (Ladefoged, & Maddieson, 2008) The World’s Major Languages The World’s Major Languages, 2nd ed., edited by B. Comrie, is a collection of linguistic descriptions of various languages. The selection that the book includes attempts to represent Published by Scholars Crossing, 2017 3 The Kabod, Vol. 3, Iss. 3 [2017], Art. 1 PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL RESEARCH SHARING METHODS 4 “major” world languages according to factors such as number of speakers and expected readership. These selection criteria make the book potentially subjective, containing languages such as English, Latin, Persian, Chinese, Tagalog, and others, for a total of fifty-two language descriptions. The work is divided into major sections by language family, and further divided into chapters by individual language descriptions. Each chapter previews a given language by reviewing its historical background, phonology, morphology, and syntax, respectively. The work, therefore, compiles language research beyond the fields of phonetics and phonology, but is especially useful for referencing detailed phonological analyses of prominent languages (Comrie, 2009). Review of Journals None of the academic journals discussed below are solely focused on developing cross- linguistic theory for phonetics and phonology; however, journals in general are forums for discussion of scientific theory. They are the primary modes of sharing linguistic research, making them essential to developing cross-linguistic discussion. Journal of Phonetics The Journal of Phonetics is an academic publication of the Elsevier Linguistics Programme. It functions primarily as a forum for experimental and theoretical phonetic research publication. However, a variety of other themes are also accepted, so long as all content relates directly back to the field of phonetics. PDF versions of the articles are available for public viewing online (Taehong, 2016). Phonetica Phonetica is a publication forum for the field of phonetics that was founded in 1957. It focuses on speaker production and language perception, and is therefore a collection of https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/kabod/vol3/iss3/1 4 Coogan: Phonetic and Phonological Research Sharing Methods PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL RESEARCH SHARING METHODS 5 researcher theories and experiment report articles within the field of phonetics. Phonetica belongs to the Karger Medical and Scientific Publications collection of periodicals, and its articles can be accessed by either individual purchase or subscription through Karger’s database (Best, 2016). Language and Speech Language and Speech is a peer reviewed research periodical published by Sage. Its focus extends beyond the immediate fields of phonetics and phonology to include topics such as language psychology or written language; however, all articles maintain a directed focus in researching speech. Much of the journal’s content is, therefore, phonetic or phonological in nature. Article PDFs are available by subscription through the journal’s website (Polikoff, 2016). Journal of the IPA The Journal of the International Phonetic Association is a publication for phonetic and phonological research. It accepts both theoretical publications and articles of practical application to topics such as speech therapy or teaching methods. The journal also emphasizes research that applies the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (which was originally developed by the International Phonetic Association) to phonetic research; thus, the journal publishes many articles that work to develop the theory of the IPA. Articles are accessible online by subscription (Arvaniti, 2016). Review of Databases Databases are the primary method of compiling language data; they are the attempts at uniformly and methodically describing the content of languages. By compiling data into a single location, linguists have a tool to analyze patterns and cross-check theories. Below are some of the most prominent and comprehensive databases useful to phonetic and phonological research. Published by Scholars Crossing, 2017 5 The Kabod, Vol. 3, Iss. 3 [2017], Art. 1 PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL RESEARCH SHARING METHODS 6 Ethnologue Ethnologue.com is an actively updated database for language typology. It is an extensive compilation of brief language entries which give basic typological information, such as estimated speaker populations, language regions, number of dialects, and more. The database also includes over two hundred language maps.